Several factors to consider:
Sensitivity: The more sensitive the speakers ( higher spl with one watt ), the more likely they are to play loudly while still sounding relatively clean. Sensitivity is something that you should put a LOT of importance on though, as you will otherwise have to DRASTICALLY increase amplifier capacity.
Power handling: In order to do "ear bleed" levels with anything but a highly efficient speaker, you'll need something that can take high amounts of power over a long term. For this reason, DIN ratings are FAR, FAR, FAR superior to any other method of rating power handling.
Power output: You will need an amp that is capable of tremendous power output while running relatively cool. The hotter an amp gets, the "nastier" it will sound. I am talking about temperatures above what one would consider "normal". This is true of any audio amp and one of the reasons that many larger and Class A amps have a LOT of heatsink area. For reasons regarding heat and physical size, high quality digital amps tend to gain favor with the high spl crowd. Otherwise, forced fan cooling almost becomes a necessity.
Dispersion / loading characteristics: output levels at nearfield measurements are useless unless you listen at 1 meter. I would consider spl measurements at 8' - 12' or so MUCH more meaningful. As such, you'll have to take into account the size of the room, how well the speakers will load into that room, etc... the bottom line is that horns will produce the most sound at the greatest distance.
Surface area: In order to play loud, you have to move a LOT of air. Since all speakers distort quite a bit as excursion ( how far the driver moves in and out ) is increased, you really need to use a lot of drivers or drivers with a lot of surface area. Sharing the load minimizes excursion, reduces distortion, increases dynamic range, increase power handling, widens dispersion, etc... You can also run into problems with what is called "comb filtering", so there are trade-offs involved in multiple driver arrays.
All of this costs money. If you are expecting to raise the roof, do it consistently and have it hold up while sounding good, you better have a pretty deep pocket. Sean
>
Sensitivity: The more sensitive the speakers ( higher spl with one watt ), the more likely they are to play loudly while still sounding relatively clean. Sensitivity is something that you should put a LOT of importance on though, as you will otherwise have to DRASTICALLY increase amplifier capacity.
Power handling: In order to do "ear bleed" levels with anything but a highly efficient speaker, you'll need something that can take high amounts of power over a long term. For this reason, DIN ratings are FAR, FAR, FAR superior to any other method of rating power handling.
Power output: You will need an amp that is capable of tremendous power output while running relatively cool. The hotter an amp gets, the "nastier" it will sound. I am talking about temperatures above what one would consider "normal". This is true of any audio amp and one of the reasons that many larger and Class A amps have a LOT of heatsink area. For reasons regarding heat and physical size, high quality digital amps tend to gain favor with the high spl crowd. Otherwise, forced fan cooling almost becomes a necessity.
Dispersion / loading characteristics: output levels at nearfield measurements are useless unless you listen at 1 meter. I would consider spl measurements at 8' - 12' or so MUCH more meaningful. As such, you'll have to take into account the size of the room, how well the speakers will load into that room, etc... the bottom line is that horns will produce the most sound at the greatest distance.
Surface area: In order to play loud, you have to move a LOT of air. Since all speakers distort quite a bit as excursion ( how far the driver moves in and out ) is increased, you really need to use a lot of drivers or drivers with a lot of surface area. Sharing the load minimizes excursion, reduces distortion, increases dynamic range, increase power handling, widens dispersion, etc... You can also run into problems with what is called "comb filtering", so there are trade-offs involved in multiple driver arrays.
All of this costs money. If you are expecting to raise the roof, do it consistently and have it hold up while sounding good, you better have a pretty deep pocket. Sean
>